Glove



Nov. 7, 1967 T. L. CULLINAN, JR

GLOVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 27, 1966 INVENTOR THOMAS L.CULLINAN,JR.

1967 1'. CULLINAN, JR 3,350,721

GLOVE Filed June 27, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent3,350,721 GLOVE Thomas L. Cullinan, Jr., 2152 S. 1st St, San Jose,Calif. 95112 Filed June 27, 1966, Ser. No. 560,736 1 Claim. (Cl. 2--169)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLDSURE A glove comprising a palm trank includingparts which form the palm areas of the finger stalls. Said trank haslateral extensions at either side, that reach from the bottom edge ofthe trank to the tips of the stalls for the little finger and the indexfinger, respectively. These extensions are folded backwardly to form theflanks, and the outer halves of the back areas, of the stalls for thelittle and index fingers; Below the finger stalls the backwardly foldedlateral extensions of the palm trank are connected by a back sectionwhose upper edge is located below the crotches of the finger stalls andforms three juxtaposed concavely arched recesses that span the crotchareas of the finger stalls from center line to center line of the backareas of said stalls. Three two-bladed fourchettes having rounded baseedges are fitted into said arched recesses and are of such width thatthey form the adjacent halves of the rear areas of the finger stalls aswell as the confronted inner flanks of said stalls.

The present invention relates to the construction and manufacture ofgloves. It may be said that a properly fitted glove should enclose thehand in the manner of an extra layer of skin. In practice, however, thebest that can be said of most gloves is that they cover the hand, butthey do not fit. They bulge and form voids, especially above the palmarea of the hand and in the crotches of, and along the confronted flankareas between, adjacent fingers, and when the wearer flexes his fingersto form a claw or a fist, the resultant looseness in the palm area andin the finger crotches throws folds and wrinkles.

In addition, the tendency of the hand to spread in breadth when thefingers are flexed, may permanently deform the glove, and the hand inturn may be placed under a constricting stress by the insufficient widthof the glove. All this is not only unsightly, but it is uncomfortableand irritating and often constitutes a hindrance in the free movabilityof the hand; and in case of prolonged use under hard conditions of Wear,it may even injure the hand. This is especially true for gloves used inmanual labor and sports where the wearers hand grips a shovel, an ax, asteering wheel, a golf club or a baseball bat. In such cases the foldsand wrinkles that result from excessive looseness of the glove abovestress area of the hand, often cause blistering and chafing of the skinand may even result in open wounds.

It is an object of the invention to provide a glove construction thatinsures a proper fit with a minimum of improper looseness and wrinkleformation.

It is another object of the invention to provide a glove that will notplace a binding stress upon the hand when the hand is flexed into a clawor fist.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a glove of the typereferred to that is simple to manufacture.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a glove, of the typereferred to, that is of pleasing appearance.

These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description of the accompanying drawings Which illustratea preferred embodiment thereof and wherein- FIGURE 1 is a plan view ofthe palm trank of a glove constructed in accordance with my invention,which displays the inner surface of said section;

FIGURE 2 is an elevation of a fourchette of the glove;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the assembled glove displaying backwardlyfolded marginal portions of the palm section, the rear trank whichconnects said marginal portions, and three of the fourchettesillustrated in FIG- URE 2 in position;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the completed glove showing its back; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the completed glove showing its palm side.

The glove of the invention comprises a trank 10 which is designed tocover the palm of the hand including the palm areas of the four fingers.Along its sides said trank 10 has relatively narrow marginal extensionsor flanges 12 and 14. When said extensions 12 and 14 are foldedbackwardly along lines 16 and 18 respectively (FIGURE 1), they cover notonly the flanks of the hand including the outer flanks of the index andlittle fingers, but extend to some degree over the back of the hand asshown in FIGURES 3 and 4. In the particular embodiment of the inventionillustrated in the accompanying drawings, the extensions 12 and 14 areof such width that they cover the outer halves of the backs of the indexfinger and the little finger and continuing marginal areas of the backof the hand. As best shown in FIGURE 1, a thumb hole 29 of conventionaldesign is cut into the front area of the palm section 10, and extendspartially into the flange 14.

A back section 22 is secured to, and between the inwardly turned edgesof the folded flanges 12 and 14. In the direction of the finger tipssaid back section 22 extends a limited distance beyond the area 25 belowwhich the knuckles of the prospective wearer will lie, and terminatesbelow the finger crotches 26 forming three juxtaposed concavely archededges 28, each spanning the distance between the center lines ofadjacent fingers and hence the crotches between the fingers, with theends 32 of said arches pointing in the direction of the finger tips. Theconfronted areas of each two adjacent fingers, including one half of theback area of each finger, is covered by a fourchette 35 (FIGURE 2) thatresembles in shape a pair of shear blades and which has a convexlyarched base 36 that fits into one of the concavely arched top edges 23of the back area 22. To cover the confronted areas of the four fingersand their rear areas three such strips 35a, 35b and 350 (FIGURES 3 and4) are necessary, and depending upon which pair of fingers said stripsare to clothe, the relative and absolute sizes of their shanks 37 and 38will vary in length and Width, as is apparent from FIGURES 3 and 4 whichillustrate all three of the strips necessary to form a glove.

The described components are secured to each other along their edges inthe position shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, except for the bottom edges 40and 42 of the palm and back sections 10 and 22, respectively. This maybe accomplished by stitching the adjacently located edges togethereither along the outer or inner surfaces, depending upon the intendedpurpose of the glove. Thus, when the glove is to be used for handlingthe steering wheel of a racing car or the handle bars of a motor cycle,the stitches 44 are preferably located on the outside. On the otherhand, when the glove is to be used for playing golf, its stitches arepreferably located on the inside. At the same time, the edges of a thumbblank 46 of a conventional design are stitched to the edge of the thumbhole 20 in the palm trank 10 of the glove to provide the sheath for thethumb. In addition, strips of elastic material 48 are stitched to theback section. 22 of the glove in a position wherein they tend to keepthe center part of the back section yieldably in a moderately contracted3 condition somewhat in the manner of a compressed concertina, as shownin FIGURE 4. The glove of the inven tion is now ready for use.

The glove of the invention is easy to manufacture. Its components, andespecially the fourchettes 35, are of such a conformation and locationthat they make it possible to establish a well fitting stall or sheathfor each finger While at the same time removing all irritating seamsfrom the confronted flank areas and the crotch regions of adjacentfingers. The presence of a back section 22 under a contracting stressinterposed between and connected to the backwardly folded marginal areas12 and 14 of the palm trank 10 is effective to exert a straighteningpull upon the front part of the palm section symmetrically from bothsides thereof and provides symmetrically for expansion of the bodyportion of the glove when the hand of the wearer spreads as it does whenhe flexes his fingers to form a claw or fist. Thus, whether the fingersare straight or flexed, the palm area of the glove is even andform-fitting and suffers no permanent deformation nor does it place aconstricting stress upon the wearers hand when the hand is fixed into afist or claw.

While I have explained my invention with the aid of a special embodimentthereof, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to thespecific constructional details shown and described by way of examplewhich may be departed from without departing from the scope and spiritof the invention.

I claim:

A glove comprising a palm trank having a bottom edge and including partsforming the palm areas of the stalls for the individual fingers, saidpalm trank having lateral extensions at either side reaching from saidbottom edge to the tips of the stalls for little and index fingers,respectively, and folded backwards to form the flanks and the adjoininghalves of the back areas of said stalls for the little finger and theindex finger, and the flanks of the glove and marginal areas of the backof the glove, a back section connected between said marginal areas andhaving below the crotches of the finger stalls an upper edge in the formof three juxtaposed concavely arched recesses spanning said crotch areasfrom center line to center line of the back areas of said stalls, andthree two-bladed fourchettes having round base edges fitted into thearched recesses of said back section and being of such width as to formthe confronted inner flanks and substantially half of the rear areas ofthe finger stalls.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 348,806 9/1886 Whitaker 2-1691,822,010 9/1931 Cecil 2161 2,211,215 8/1940 Orne 2169 3,229,307 1/1966Jamison 2-169 3,273,165 9/1966 Sperandeo 2-169 FOREIGN PATENTS 593,72610/1947 Great Britian.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Assistan Examiner.

